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GTE is first to offer one-stop-shopping for a variety of telecommunications services to Fort Wayne residents.

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FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Residential telephone customers in Fort Wayne now can receive all their telecommunications services from one company, on one bill, for a low, flat rate. GTE Communications Corporation (GTECC) is first in the market to offer these customized bundled telecommunications services to residential customers.

The basic GTE UnlimitedSM bundle packages local and long distance calling with two call features such as caller ID and call waiting. Customers may add Internet access, paging and wireless services to the bundle.

"Our customers have told us they want, value, simplicity, customer service and the convenience of one-stop-shopping. That's what we're providing in Fort Wayne with the introduction of our one-bill, one-number-to-call bundle," said C.F. "Butch" Bercher, president of GTECC.

Prices for GTECC's most popular bundles start at $44.95 a month. The price varies based on the amount of long distance selected. For example, the GTE Unlimited $44.95 bundle includes 100 minutes of long distance, unlimited local service and two call features; the $77.95 bundle includes 400 minutes of long distance, local calling and two call features.

A recent survey shows consumers' strong preference for one-stop shopping for telecommunications services. The second annual Communications Preferences Survey by the Information & Communications Practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers, done in late 1998, showed that 71 percent of respondents surveyed would prefer to receive one bill for all their communications service. And 54 percent of respondents said they would prefer to purchase their local, long distance, wireless, cable and Internet services from a single company.

GTECC provides residential service bundles to more than 100,000 customers in parts of California, Florida, and Washington. "We've been a pioneer in offering bundles, and have invested millions of dollars in our call centers and systems to support ordering, billing and customer service," Bercher said. "A lot of companies have talked about providing bundles. Others have tried and failed. We're doing it, and we're proud to deliver a proven, one-stop bundled service solution to Fort Wayne residential customers."

About GTE

GTE Communications Corporation is the national retail sales and service arm for GTE Corporation (GTE). With 1998 revenues of more than $25 billion, GTE is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and a leading provider of integrated telecommunications services.

In the United States, GTE provides local service in 28 states and wireless service in 17 states; nationwide long-distance service and internetworking services ranging from dial-up Internet access for residential and small business consumers to Web-based applications for Fortune 500 companies; as well as video service in selected markets.

Outside the United States, the company serves nearly 9 million telecommunications customers. In addition, GTE is a leader in government and defense communications systems and equipment, directories and telecommunications-based information services, and aircraft-passenger telecommunications.